In late 1833, the Europeans were introduced to a number of chiefs at Fort Clark, North Dakota. Prince Max, in the dark green coat, holds a fowling piece; Bodmer, the artist, stands on his left. His figure is, alas, slightly distorted because I was unable to get the book to lay flat, but you can see that besides his rifle, he has a bag that most likely contains paper, pencils, and colours to make his sketches. Bodmer and Prince Max spent nearly five months at Fort Clark over the winter of 1833-34, when the Prince conducted a detailed ethnographic survey of the neighbouring Minataree culture.
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This is a woman of the Teton Souix, and while Maximillian recorded her name, there is no English version provided. I emailed a Lakota website requesting a translation, if possible, but they declined to do so on the grounds that her name belonged to her; which seems, frankly, a little odd, and perhaps even prickly, given that she gave her name to the artist. What I find more interesting is that the decorations on her robe bear some similarities to the types of design employed by native bands on the northwest coast of America. One wonders if many native groups had members who travelled farther afield, at least sometimes.
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Maximillian and Bodmer found a number of these monuments around Fort Union. They were told that they were erected by the Assiniboin to lure buffalo herds to their lands.
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This young Blackfoot girl was being raised among the Assiniboin, so it is most likely that she was captured during a raiding party, given that the two tribes were at this time enemies. Many Plains indian tribes similarly took captives because otherwise the constant warfare might result in some bands being completely wiped out, or reduced so far in numbers that they would be unable to sustain themselves.
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We don't know this warrior's name because Prince Maximillian did not record it. He wears an elkhide robe which he has apparently decorated himself, listing all the battles he has fought, and all the horses he's stolen (indicated by the hoofprint symbols). The yellow hourglass figures indicate enemies killed, and the muskets and bows, the weapons he has taken as prizes. At the bottom of the robe, on the left side, the three black symbols indicate scalps taken. The symbols on his shoulder indicate horse-whips, which were always given with the present of a horse, thus, they show his generosity.
The Plains indians were a warrior society, ready at all times to engage in battle with other males, and honour within the society was mostly gained by exploits in battle. The tribes managed to exist within a constant state of low-intensity warfare, facilitated by the horse.
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